Old School Review/ Iron and Wine/Dave Bazan

this is an older review, that I found in my inbox that i forgot to stick up. so maybe enjoy?

It wasn’t just the beards which united the two performers taking the stage at Messiah College in Grantham, PA on Saturday night, as Sam Beam (Iron & Wine) and David Bazan (Pedro the Lion) both dealt heavily in a folk-style dark examination of love, family, and God.
Looking like two escapees from Abraham’s school of facial fashion, Beam and Bazan put on a powerful show for the packed basketball gym audience of Messiah College students, area couples, and fans from across America.
Emblematic of the evening, Bazan opened the night with a powerful rendition of “Hallelujah,” changing up the lyrics to the second half of the song and turning Leonard Cohen’s classic ballad of human relational tragedy into one reflecting Bazan’s own tumultuous struggle with the nature of the Divine.

As the front man for a cult-popular 90’s Christian folk-rock band, Bazan has never shied away from articulating his theological angst. However, that angst hasn’t resulted in any happy ending as Bazan has renounced his belief in God, unable to reconcile the character of God in relation to the problem of evil.
A newcomer to this struggle, it was surprisingly painful to listen to the songs of Bazan throughout the night, as a soul at unrest was put on display for the room to see.
Bazan’s stage chatter was quiet, cynical and almost heartbreaking in its sadness.
To listen to Bazan sing, “Sweet Jesus I still need you, forgive me this sin, not hookers or heroin, gamblin’ or gin… I need someone to help me help myself, (The Longer I Lay Here)” you felt like you weren’t watching a performance, but a wrestling match with the divine that had no sunrise in sight.
Bazan’s active unwillingness to accept the presence of a traditional deity was matched by Beams passive acceptance of some mystical deity working in the lives of men. Most famous for his cover of the Postal Service’s Such Great Heights on the Garden State soundtrack, Beam remains a master at painting warm folk scenes, heavily tinged with darkness.
Playing material from albums and EP’s, Beam also played eight songs off his yet to be released album, Shepherds Dog. The new ballads almost fit seamlessly with old material. Whether taking the form of a sympathetic viewing of traditionally reviled characters, (who's seen jezebel? /she was born to be the woman we could blame-Jezebel) or simply painting a simple love story facing death, (Naked as we Came)-Beam manages to create beautiful story tapestries of dark truth.
When he stands behind the microphone, begins sliding his fingers across the guitar, and opens up his mouth, a coffee rich atmosphere is created, that quiets all mouths. Though college gym was packed, it seemed only appropriate that Beam asked the standing crowd to sit on the floor. It wasn’t until the powerfully epic climax of “The Trapeze Swinger,” that a few souls found the strength to stand back up.
“Please, remember me/ finally/and all my uphill clawing/ my dear/ if I make the pearly gates/ do my best to make a drawing/ of God and Lucifer.”
Beam and Bazan have been making musical drawings for quite awhile, and regardless of what the final product may end up showing, the scratchings on the way have proven to be just as important to their fans and themselves.